Region

Radio host organizes rallies

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:31 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA -- Flag-draped "Rallies for America" across the country are drawing thousands of people to demonstrate support for U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf -- a less visible counterpoint to the large crowds who have flocked to anti-war protests.

Two art students share dreams, studio space

By Jane Charney · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:29 p.m.

On a quiet Sunday night, the McCalla Sculpture Center's woodshop studio is home to Gaberial Meldahl, his current project and his drum set. There is hardly anyone else in the entire building, which can be full of people during regular hours.

an Oscar alternative

By Adam Aasen · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:28 p.m.

With a ceremony that lasts hours and awards that can be disappointing to some, the Academy Awards become the target of more complaints than filmmaker Michael Moore makes about the war.

On the Home Front

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:23 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, which usually treats veterans, could be placed on active duty to treat casualties from the war in Iraq. ROCHESTER, Ind. -- Prayers for a quick end to the war in Iraq were part of a rally to support the U.S. troops overseas attended by more than 200 people on the Fulton County Courthouse lawn. CROWN POINT, Ind. -- Crown Point school officials say overseas trips for students will go on as planned, despite a worldwide caution alert issued by the U.S. State Department.

Former New York Senator Moynihan dies

By Alyson Brodsy and Devlin Barrett · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:19 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a New York City shoeshine boy who became an iconoclastic scholar-politician and served four terms in the Senate, died Wednesday. He was 76.

Mystery illness identified as SARS

By Alyson Brodsy and Audra Ang · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:18 p.m.

BEIJING -- The World Health Organization for the first time has linked a pneumonia outbreak in China to a mystery flu-like illness that has hit other countries on three continents.

President forecasts toughest conditions ahead for troops

By Alyson Brodsy and Scott Lindlaw · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:17 p.m.

MacDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- President Bush said Wednesday the war in Iraq is far from over and warned that coalition forces will face "the most desperate elements of a doomed regime" as they close in on Baghdad.

State Senate stalls phone legislation

By Alyson Brodsy and Mike Smith · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:17 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A controversial bill strongly pushed by telecom giant SBC Communications has stalled in the Indiana Senate and might be dead this session.

Pro bono fund raising OK'd

By Alyson Brodsy and Mark Jewell · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:17 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a practice to raise money for legal services for the poor should help preserve pro bono programs across Indiana, a state Supreme Court official said Wednesday.

Pentagon revises strategy in Iraq

By Alyson Brodsy and Pauline Jelinek · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:16 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Surprised by the power of Iraq's paramilitaries, the Pentagon is adjusting its tactics in the push to Baghdad, defense officials said Wednesday.

Suspect in Behrman case pleads guilty in unrelated case

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, March 26,2003 11:16 p.m.

BLOOMINGTON -- A man investigators have said was the leading suspect in the 2000 disappearance of IU student Jill Behrman could soon be out of jail under a plea agreement in an unrelated case.

Austin proves to be a musical mecca

By -Val Tsoutsouris · Wednesday, March 26,2003 3:47 p.m.

If you think contemporary music is headed downhill, then I can probably guess where you weren't between March 12-16. You weren't at the South by Southwest Music Festival, the annual industry get-together held in Austin, Texas.

Quality cinematic comedy found on cable

By -Alec Toombs · Wednesday, March 26,2003 3:46 p.m.

What is with the state of cinematic comedy these days? Now, more than ever, we as filmgoers need to take our minds off the war horrors force-fed to us via the idiot box. Yet, nothing even resembling a masterfully made comedy (excep "Old School") is in our midst. Audiences apparently yearn to laugh, and as such the Steve Martin/Queen Latifah "comedy" "Bringing Down the House" has been raking in the dough. Honestly, this saddens me. I've yet to see the film, nor do I have any plans of doing so -- the trailer alone is enough to make me retch.

Robots! Arenas! Oh My!

By David Antognoli · Wednesday, March 26,2003 3:45 p.m.

At first glance, "Robot Arena: Design and Destroy" looked like the type of sloppy game that gets pimped out in the checkout aisle of Wal-Mart, deceiving innocent children into thinking they could get a fun game for a discount price. Little did I know I would be spending over ten hours in the next two days contently designing and destroying robots in arenas.

'8 Mile' opens rap battling world

By -Paul Straw · Wednesday, March 26,2003 3:44 p.m.

Rapper Eminem gets to show his acting and rapping talent as he plays Jimmy "Bunny Rabbit" Smith in "8 Mile," a film loosely based on Eminem's life. Whether or not Eminem is acting or just playing himself, the story of Rabbit's struggle to find his voice is well done. "8 Mile" is the story of a young man battling adversity because of his race, but this time it is a white rapper trying to succeed and earn credibility in metro-Detroit. The best way to earn credibility in the Detroit rap scene is by winning rap battles, and this DVD is full of them. During the filming, the extras were getting restless and director Curtis Hanson says he noticed in some of the filming breaks that people were breaking out into mini-rap battles much like the characters do throughout the film. To relieve stress and keep the extra's attention, the production team held a rap battle competition for the chance to to take on Eminem in a scene for possible use in the movie. While none of the footage was used in the film, the DVD offers a feature with the four winning battles and a montage of others, as well as a glimpse into the Detroit rap scene further than the film can.

Art Alexakis: the new voice of the left

By Jason Gaddis · Wednesday, March 26,2003 3:44 p.m.

Few alt-rock bands have survived the post-grunge era as well as Everclear. The trio, led by frontman Art Alexakis, hasn't done anything unsuccessful, but throughout its history, the band has suffered from the criticism that and all its music sounds the same. The two-CD set, Songs From an American Movie, vol. 1 and 2 were a shift in style for the Portland group.

Good acting for a subpar film

By -Paul Straw · Wednesday, March 26,2003 3:43 p.m.

The Hunted" is a overly simple movie from Oscar-winning director William Friedkin. In fact, it's too simple, almost as if scenes have been cut from the movie. Aaron (Benicio Del Toro) is a special operative in the marines who excels at one thing: killing people. Using only a knife, he hunts down and kills his victims; most of them unaware that he is even nearby. The only man nearly as skilled in the art of hand-to-hand combat is L.T. (Tommy Lee Jones), a non-military man who trained Aaron and others in hunting and survival techniques. When Aaron has had enough of working for the government, he goes into the woods and starts killing people, so the military recruits L.T. to find Aaron.

Talented cast wasted in stilted King retread

By -Alec Toombs · Wednesday, March 26,2003 3:42 p.m.

Having never read Stephen King's novel "Dreamcatcher" puts me at a slight disadvantage in discerning what exactly unfurled during writer/director Lawrence Kasdan's cinematic adaptation/abortion of the same name. Many cite it as King's worst book to date and, if the film's any indication, they're probably right on the money. "Dreamcatcher" centers on four lifelong friends: Henry (Thomas Jane), Beaver (Jason Lee), Jonesy (Damian Lewis) and Pete (Timothy Olyphant). United as children when rescuing a mentally retarded classmate named Duddits (played in adult form by former New Kids on the Block member Donnie Wahlberg), the four are endowed with poorly defined telepathic powers. As adults, the men gather for a hunting trip in the wintry woods of Maine in which their preternatural abilities are put to the ultimate test when an alien invasion occurring within their midst transforms these hunters into the hunted.

Glover takes the cheese in rat-pack remake

By by Isaac Edwards and Isaac Edwards · Wednesday, March 26,2003 3:41 p.m.

He's creepy in that quietly threatening way that makes you wrap your arms tighter around loved ones. He lives in a dilapidated castle of a mansion with his wheezing, sickly mother. It's disturbingly obvious that this individual is either on the crumbling edge of sanity, and if he's not, it's because he jumped long before we got there. And he's out for blood. This could serve as a fairly loose interpretation of Hitchcock's Norman Bates from "Psycho." But the one I describe deserves one more little nail-biting, shiver-inducing detail: he holds power over hordes of rats. This is the basic premise of Glen Morgan's revenge-ridden, rat-loving, freak-fest of a remake, "Willard," based on the 1971 cult-smash of the same name.

Waste not your paper towels

By Jessica Halverson · Wednesday, March 26,2003 3:40 p.m.

The Party of Helicopters is begging you to believe in nothing. A string of empty phrases backed by pretty noise, these male debutantes who fancy themselves punk purists only float their vocals on high-pitched waves that barely keep the moderately-tempoed distortion rock moving. I'm sure the Partiers are trying to move beyond the cuteness of adolescent party songs about mustaches and passing out on floors, but I also fear they all have those shaggy emo haircuts.